At the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Germany surpassed Argentina to become the victorious final winner. Germany easily defeated its Brazilian host by a wide margin of 7-1 at the semifinals and easily triumphed over France, a traditionally strong soccer rival. Behind Germany’s mighty tour de force was the Electronic Performance & Tracking System (EPTS). The EPTS is a wearable vest device that collects and analyzes data on individual athletes including but not limited to the distance and number of sprints they run. The outcomes are used to formulate personalized game strategies or quantitatively evaluate a player’s skills. Today, most teams belonging to the K League 1 have adopted the EPTS, making this cutting-edge technology an indispensable part of any professional modern soccer team.

The Flexible Electronics Group headed by professor Yoonyoung Chung at the Department of Electrical Engineering, POSTECH is researching ETPS technology in partnership with the Korea Football Association. The goal is to develop independent technology to engineer a world-renowned ETPS system that far outperforms that of other foreign companies. Last December, the ETPS devices developed by the Lab successfully passed FIFA’s safety test.

Professor Chung’s research team is looking into other wearable sensors in addition to ETPS devices. The technologies explored by these researchers will deliver immense value and application once made commonly available. For example, wearables for use on babies, could alarm its parents by way of smartphone, upon the detection of an infant sleeping in a compromised position. The guardians of epilepsy patients could be alerted of sudden seizures, and a wearable microphone comfortably attached to the throat could allow patients to communicate even in the most extreme conditions. These research findings have already been published in the international journal of ‘Nature Communications’ along with other prestigious journals in this field.

The Flexible Electronics Group also probes into display sensors, Integrated Circuit (IC) chips and other semiconductor transistors. Its goal here is to engineer chips that perform faster and store more information while consuming less power. They also plan on delivering displays with higher resolution and improved flexibility. The group strives to secure domestic and international patent rights for each critical research finding, while putting in efforts to commercialize the newly developed technologies.

The Flexible Electronics Group plans to bring its knowledge to the next level in skillfully processing semiconductor materials to develop improved ICs and displays while continuing to study such high value-added wearable sensors as EPTS technology. “Our researchers are already living in the future through their research at the Lab”, professor Chung mentioned, and added, “We love what we do and find great pleasure in our R&D work here. The fact that we are able to benefit the daily lives of so many and create significant economic value, just adds to the rewarding experience that we enjoy as scientists”.